Intel today extended its Xeon DP processor line with a new 3.06GHz version containing 1MB of on-die L3 cache - double that of the previous generation of the chip - as anticipated.

The new Xeon lacks the Pentium 4's 800MHz effective bit rate frontside bus - the Xeon's FSB has an effective bit rate of 533MHz. But Intel claims the new chip performs more than 15 per cent faster than the previous top-of-the-range Xeon DP.

As forecast, the chip will cost $690 in batches of 1000. Intel yesterday cut the prices of similar Xeons by up to 34 per cent: